Peoria's Carlos O'Kelly's restaurant has closed its doors

Monday

Mar 10, 2014 at 4:55 PM

Steve Tarter Journal Star city of Peoria reporter @SteveTarter

PEORIA — The Carlos O’Kelly’s restaurant at the Sheridan Village shopping center has closed.

The franchise also shuttered an outlet in Fort Wayne, Ind., said Dave Phillips, director of restaurant marketing from company headquarters in Wichita, Kan., who confirmed that the Peoria outlet closed after serving food Sunday.

Thirty-five people worked at the Peoria location, he said.

“We’re relocating the manager while providing severance packages of a week’s salary for employees who’ve been with us a year or more. We wish we could do more,” he said.

Phillips said the company also planned to close outlets in Bloomington and Decatur.

“We’re primarily based in the West. We’ve found it difficult to operate in other markets,” he said, noting the chain maintains 10 restaurants in Iowa and another 10 in Kansas.

“We tried to make it work,” said Phillips of company efforts with restaurants in Illinois and Indiana. “But what used to be a profitable business was coming up short.”

As leases come up for renewal, the decision is to close, he said of Carlos O’Kelly restaurants in Illinois and Indiana.

The franchise had operated in Peoria for almost 20 years, said Phillips.

Steve Tarter is Journal Star business editor. Tarter’s phone number is 686-3260, and his email address is starter@pjstar.com.